Clearly Payments

08/05/2026

Businesses that accept corporate, purchasing, and government credit cards may be paying more in processing fees than necessary.

By qualifying eligible transactions for Level 2 or Level 3 interchange, many businesses can reduce processing costs by approximately 10 to 40 basis points (0.10%–0.40%).

That may not sound like much, but on $10 million in annual commercial card volume, that's roughly $10,000–$40,000 in potential annual savings.

The surprising part? Many businesses already collect the required invoice, tax, and purchase order data—they simply aren't submitting it with their payment transactions.

If you sell to other businesses or government organizations, it's worth reviewing whether your payment system supports Level 2 and Level 3 processing.

https://www.clearlypayments.com/blog/what-are-level-2-and-level-3-interchange-programs/

07/24/2026

The average distributor spends far more on payment processing than they need to. As margins tighten and competition increases, even small improvements in payment costs can have a meaningful impact on profitability.

A few numbers put it into perspective:

• U.S. wholesale trade generates over US$10 trillion in annual sales.

• Canadian wholesale trade exceeds C$1 trillion annually.

• Many distributors operate on gross margins of 15%–30%, making cost control critical.

• Reducing an effective processing rate from 2.20% to 1.90% saves:

• $6,000 per year on $2M in card volume

• $30,000 per year on $10M

• $150,000 per year on $50M

Many distributors are also missing out on lower interchange rates by not optimizing for Level 2 and Level 3 commercial card processing, despite already capturing much of the required data in their ERP systems.

We recently published a guide covering:

• How distributors can reduce credit card fees

• Level 2 and Level 3 processing

• ACH vs. credit cards

• ERP integrations

• Choosing the right payment processor

Read the full guide here:

https://www.clearlypayments.com/blog/payment-processing-for-distributors/

Learn how distributors can reduce credit card processing fees through Level 2 and Level 3 data, ACH, interchange optimization, and the right merchant account. Includes industry trends, statistics, and best practices.

07/07/2026

Spoiler: Processing rates are only one piece of the puzzle.

Many businesses choose a payment processor based on a simple comparison: 2.9% + 30¢ sounds easy, so it must be the best option. In reality, the true cost of accepting payments depends on much more than the advertised rate.

A processor that appears more expensive may save thousands of dollars each year. Likewise, a processor with a simple flat rate can become surprisingly costly as your business grows.

This guide explains the real differences between Stripe and a traditional merchant account, when each option makes sense, and how to calculate your actual payment processing costs.

Compare Stripe with traditional merchant accounts, including fees, interchange pricing, support, and long-term costs. Learn which payment solution is best for your business.

06/22/2026

Most people think merchant acquiring is a technology business.

I think it's becoming a distribution business.

Twenty years ago, the companies with the best infrastructure won. They had the processor connections, certifications, hardware integrations, and scale that smaller competitors couldn't match.

Today, much of that technology is available to everyone.

What's harder to replicate is access to merchants.

That's why some of the most valuable assets in payments aren't necessarily technology platforms. They're merchant portfolios, referral networks, industry partnerships, software ecosystems, and trusted customer relationships.

Technology enables transactions.

Distribution owns customers.

As payment technology becomes more accessible and AI lowers the cost of building software, I suspect we'll see even more value shift toward companies that control merchant relationships.

The next decade of merchant acquiring may be less about who has the best technology and more about who owns the best distribution.

https://www.clearlypayments.com/blog/merchant-acquiring-consolidating-around-distribution-not-technology/

06/19/2026

More than $850 billion flowed through Canadian credit cards in 2025.

That works out to:

• $2.3 billion per day
• $97 million per hour
• More than $26,000 every second

Credit cards now account for roughly one-third of all payment transactions in Canada, making them one of the most important pieces of the country's financial infrastructure.

We pulled together the latest Canadian credit card statistics covering spending, debt, mobile wallets, processing fees, and payment trends.

https://www.clearlypayments.com/blog/canadian-credit-card-statistics-2025-usage-spending-debt-payment-trends/

06/15/2026

Every business that accepts credit cards pays interchange fees, but most people have no idea what interchange actually is.

What's interesting is that interchange isn't really a processor fee. It's primarily money that flows to the cardholder's bank and helps fund things like fraud protection, credit risk, and rewards programs.

It also creates some interesting economic incentives. The premium travel card that earns free flights and airport lounge access often costs a merchant significantly more to accept than a basic debit card, even if the purchase amount is exactly the same.

I spent some time digging into the mechanics and economics behind interchange fees. It's one of those things that quietly influences how banks compete, how rewards programs are funded, and what businesses ultimately pay to accept cards.

Worth understanding if you're involved in payments, fintech, or run a business that accepts credit cards.

When a customer taps, inserts, or enters a credit card online, the transaction appears almost instantaneous. A receipt is generated, funds begin moving, and the sale is complete. Behind that simple experience, however, exists one of the most sophisticated financial systems ever built. Every card pay...

06/11/2026

This article examines the economics of embedded payments, explores typical payment volumes across industries, and models how much revenue software companies can potentially generate through integrated payment processing.

Embedded payments creates significant recurring revenue for software companies. Explore revenue models, adoption benchmarks, industry examples, and real-world scenarios.

06/01/2026

Every day, millions of online purchases move through a global payments infrastructure that most consumers never see. A customer clicks “Buy Now”, receives an approval message within seconds, and assumes the transaction is complete.

In reality, that single payment triggers a complex chain of financial institutions, technology providers, security systems, and regulatory processes that work together to move money safely from one party to another.

For merchants, understanding how these economics work is increasingly important. Payment acceptance is often one of the largest operating expenses associated with e-commerce, yet many businesses only see a single processing fee on their monthly statement.

This report examines the typical economics behind a $100 online credit card transaction in North America and explores where that money actually goes.

This is a break down a typical $100 online transaction and explain how banks, card networks, processors, and fraud systems share the costs.

05/20/2026

AI agents are evolving from passive assistants into systems that can autonomously take actions and complete transactions. Today’s payment infrastructure was designed for humans and traditional software workflows, not autonomous AI systems.

Future AI agents may need native access to:

• payment APIs

• banking rails

• programmable money

• identity and permission systems

• real-time settlement infrastructure

Artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving from a passive assistant into an active participant in the economy. Today, AI systems summarize documents, answer questions, generate code, and automate workflows. The next phase is much larger: AI agents that can independently complete tasks on behalf of....

05/11/2026

Merchant churn is one of the biggest factors behind long-term value creation in payments, but it’s often oversimplified. Not all merchant portfolios are created equal.

A healthcare or legal merchant may stay with the same processor for 10+ years. A restaurant or ecommerce brand might churn within 2 to 3 years, even if it’s growing quickly today.

You can lose a large number of small merchants and still maintain stable revenue. On the flip side, losing a few large accounts can materially impact a portfolio even if overall merchant count looks healthy.

A few findings from the report:

• Merchant churn can vary by more than 5x depending on vertical

• Restaurants often see 25% to 45% annual logo churn

• Some high-risk categories can exceed 50%+ annual churn

• Professional services and healthcare tend to produce the most durable portfolios

• Embedded payments are materially improving retention by increasing switching friction

• Portfolio quality increasingly matters more than raw onboarding growth

Key Takeaways Merchant churn can vary by more than 5x depending on vertical, with professional services below 10% annual logo churn while high-risk ecommerce categories are 50% Restaurants frequently experience 25% to 45% annual logo churn, driven by business failures, POS migrations, ownership turn...